At just about any point along the way, one of the two most visible Yankees—Joe Torre or Derek Jeter—could have come forward and said what should be obvious: Alex Rodriguez is a great, great player, and in the worst season of his career he’s a star. Defining his season by his lowest points is doing him a disservice, and the constant focus on his play is an insult to the other members of the team. Whatever Rodriguez’s performance issues, such as they were, his overall contributions were valuable. Beyond that, he’s one of the game’s model citizens, with barely a controversy to his name in a time when so many others have been tainted.

That statement, completely true, would have done more to alleviate the pressure on Rodriguez than anything else. They didn’t do so, instead allowing petty nonsense like his desire to please people (heaven forfend) and his performance is varied subsets (in Boston, in the playoffs, against a small handful of pitchers, in 20 at-bats in July) to substitute for real information. They didn’t defend their teammate, and by allowing, even stoking, the situation, they absolved themselves and every other Yankee of blame for their fortunes. If they lost, it would be Rodriguez’s fault, no matter how the rest of them played.

Labels: team a-rod, yanquis

7:59 PM :: ::

2 Comments:

• wow, damn. i never thought about that angle... scapegoat, throw under bus, pick your metaphor... he sure came in handy

  By  June, at 9:05 PM   <$BlogItemControl$>

• i've been saying all season that the only one who could stop the a-rod bashing is jeter, and although he didn't start the bashfest or openly contribute to it, it's his responsibility as captain to defuse those situations before they become full on disruptive distractions, because it's what's best for the team
  
  a captain should be more than just the first guy who runs onto the field
  
  oh wait but a-rod is the egomaniac, my bad

  By  Mr. Faded Glory, at 11:17 AM   <$BlogItemControl$>

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